Shelby boys, Lexington girls 4x800 teams go All-Ohio at OHSAA state track meet

COLUMBUS — If there's two words to describe the Shelby boys 4x800 relay team of Huck Finnegan, Indy Mayer, Marshall Moore and Luke Dininger this outdoor track season, it's reliable and unwavering.

Reliable in the way they handle their business in the event and either win or place top-two at major meets/invitationals this year. They won the Mehock Relays. They won the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference meet. They won the district title and were regional runners-up.

Unwavering in how they never deviate from running in the eight-minute time range in the big meets. They ran 8:08.74 at Mehock, 8:05.82 at MOAC, 8:10.56 at districts and 8:06.63 at regionals.

In the Division II state final on Friday in Columbus at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, they topped all of those and ran a fantastic time of 7:56.87 to come in third place and earn a spot on the podium as All-Ohioans (top-eight finish). Marlington won the state title (7:50.98) for the second straight year, while second-place went to West Geauga (7:55.65).

Last year, the group of Moore, Dininger and Finnegan were on the 4x800 team that finished fifth (8:02.11), alongside graduate Mason Hendrickson. Mayer stepped in and they jumped two spots this year with an even better time.

A top-three placing was their goal.

"I would say so," said Mayer, when asked if coming in third place was expected. "We placed fourth in this event indoors when D-2 and D-3 were mixed. I was expecting at least third or higher."

"I remember in the beginning of the season I said, 'We're going top-three,'" said Finnegan, this year's regional, district and MOAC champion in the 3,200. "It's either top-three or nothing."

Moore, this year's MOAC and district champion in the 800, ran the first leg for the Whippets and was pleased with the way he jumped things off.

"I had the duty of getting out and starting it," said Moore. "I was honestly really happy with how I raced it. I think I put us in a good position."

The junior then passed the baton to Finnegan, and the senior ran a pivotal leg for the team.

"I knew I had to step it up from last week," he said. "I didn't run a good leg last week. I just had to do it for my team. I put them in first. It's just a great feeling to put my team there."

That he did.

When Finnegan handed the baton off to Mayer, Shelby had a small lead and, by the time the junior got around the second lap on the third leg, the Whippets had the lead and were looking pretty good.

"It's a pretty great feeling running in first place in a state final, but I didn't really feel the pressure," said Mayer, a regional qualifier this year in the 3,200. "I think a lot can be said about Huck's leg. Marshall obviously ran a great spot. That second leg Huck took it away. When I got the baton, I think Huck handed it off in first place.

"So, I tried to stay with that Marlington kid. I think about 300 meters to go, I was like, 'All of this isn't too bad.' I took the leg and ran my race."

Dininger, a regional qualifier this year in the 1,600, ran the the final leg and finished strong as the Whippets came out in third place.

"It was a really good race," said Dininger. "These guys put me in a great position. They gave me the baton in second place and I finished with everything I had."

Given that this was the state final and many of the teams were likely to run fast times, they were asked if there was a specific time they were shooting for to secure their spot on the podium or even win.

They all said sub-8.00.

"We ran 8:08 all season," Finnegan said.

"Our coach has been telling us a sub-8 is going to happen," Mayer said. "I think just that positive reinforcement all season picks you up."

Before the outdoor season kicked into gear, the four ran together in March at the Nike Indoor Nationals in New York City, where they had a 12th-place finish. The seeds of a third-place state finish were already sprouting way before outdoor season came into effect.

"It's a good feeling," Mayer said. "I ran a good time at districts last year, which could have got me on any other schools 4x800 team. It's a lot of pressure sometimes but it's a good feeling."

"We definitely had a lot of confidence coming in," Dininger said. "We had a lot of faith in Indy. We all had really good splits this year."

"I think with racing last year here and doing well racing indoors has given us a lot of confidence," Moore said. "So coming here, we've seen a lot of stuff as a team and have raced a lot of races together. We just had the confidence coming into it."

Lexington girls medal in 4x800 relay

The Whippet boys weren't the only 4x800 relay from Richland County to do its thing at the state meet Friday.

The Lexington girls team of Kenley Miller, Brailey Slone, Elyana Weaver and Lily Wolfe finished sixth (9:25.16) in the state final to also collect their share of medals.

In what was for each her first time running at the state meet, nerves were definitely a factor.

"A lot of nerves," said Miller. "It's a little different from running cross country. There are people just cheering you on the whole time. Here the excitement level is there."

Weaver ran the first leg for Lady Lex, and then passed the baton to Slone. By the time Miller received the baton in the third leg, Lexington had the lead. Lexington was second heading into the final leg, anchored by Wolfe, who was hunted down by a couple of runners to push their place down to sixth.

Either way, the Ohio Cardinal Conference champions and district/regional runner-up in the event this season made it on the podium, which was the goal all along.

"I thought my portion of the race went pretty good," said Slone, assessing the overall race for the team. "We PR'd by 11 seconds. The goal was podium, so we did that."

"We knew it was going to be competitive," said Weaver, the 800 regional champion. "A lot of people were PR'ing, so it's really exciting. It was definitely crazy. It was our first time running at state."

"Definitely a great experience," Miller said.

The group also added that they were thrilled to go under 9:30 in a state final, especially in scorching conditions.

"We knew our potential," Weaver said. "We knew we could run under 9:30. To do that in the heat and at state for the first time, was really good."

The girls then briefly reflected on their season and that this would be their last race together as a foursome, with Wolfe and Miller set to graduate.

"I think we've all worked real hard this past season," said Wolfe. "To come this far, we're really impressed with ourselves."

"Really bittersweet," Miller said. "It's our last race together."

Clear Fork's Joe Stupka clinches place in three state finals

Saturday afternoon is set to be an active day for Joe Stupka, who qualified for the finals of the 100, 200 and 400 meters on Friday during prelims.

In the 100, his time of 10.79 was fifth in his heat and seventh overall. His time of 21.89 in the 200 was the sixth-fastest time in prelims. His 400 run was very impressive, timing in at 48.84, second-fastest behind Bexley's Mason Louis.

Being at the state meet for the first time, were his emotions running pretty high or did the heat overtake that?

"Definitely nerves but the heat doesn't help," said Stupka. "You just gotta come in with a positive attitude. Hydrate and get every advantage you can."

On day one, Stupka crammed in three individual races basically under an hour-in-a-half. He'll have to do the same on Saturday. He talked about the amount of tasks at hand.

"Coming into state, it's pretty difficult but, again, you have to have a positive attitude coming in," he said. "Just go out and execute. No excuses. Just gotta go home and recover."

jsimpson@gannett.com

Twitter: @JamesSimpsonII

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Shelby boys, Lex girls 4x800 relay teams medal at state track meet